Text Size

SOLYNDRA REPORT FALLOUT: Just before leaving for their August recess, House Energy and Commerce Republicans threw gasoline on the Solyndra fire, dropping a lengthy report that caps the GOP’s 18-month investigation into the Obama administration’s $535 million loan guarantee to the failed solar company. The report: http://politico.pro/MT3tgl

Regular Pro readers know that there’s little new in the report. But that didn’t stop the RNC, Mitt Romney and House Republicans from snapping into attack mode. The POLITICO story: http://politi.co/QiXxwt

‘UGH’: That’s what Stephanie Cutter said in an August 2011 email when she found out that Solyndra was about to go bankrupt. Cutter, who now serves as deputy campaign manager for President Barack Obama, was deputy senior adviser to the president when she made the comments. BuzzFeed found Cutter’s remarks (http://bit.ly/OJbx2R) in the raw documents released by committee Republicans on Thursday, and the GOP pounced.

ROMNEY WEIGHS IN: “From the President’s senior adviser to his deputy campaign manager, it seems like every member of the Obama inner circle knew President Obama would pay a political price for his decision to sink half a billion taxpayer dollars into Solyndra. But that didn’t stop the Obama administration — and American taxpayers and the 1,800 unemployed workers are the ones still paying the price,” Romney campaign spokesman Ryan Williams said in a statement headlined “ugh.”

TGIF and welcome to Morning Energy. I’m your fill-in host, Andrew Restuccia. It’s my first time writing ME, so be nice. I just moved into a new apartment and I managed to meet my ME deadline while arguing with the always-helpful customer service team at Comcast and assembling my new grill (why is there always one missing screw?).

DEMS HIT BACK: House Energy and Commerce Democrats released an eight-page memo later Thursday aimed at rebutting Republicans’ Solyndra report. “The Republican report is partisan and one-sided. It does not substantiate the primary allegation that motivated the committee’s Solyndra investigation, which is that the loan guarantee decision was a form of political payoff to a campaign contributor,” the committee’s Democratic staff wrote. Darius Dixon has the skinny: http://politico.pro/N24vos

STEARNS DEFENDS REPORT: POLITICO pressed Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) on the report in the Capitol on Thursday, asking whether Republicans had found evidence to support their claims about Solyndra. “Well, the thing is. It’s how you interpret losing $535 million. Do you interpret it that this loss came from good fiscal management or did it come from an overzealous political campaign to promote clean energy — and I would say the latter,” Stearns said.

ISSA WEIGHS IN: Fresh off an RNC call in which he said the administration's “political appointees” should have listened to “career professionals” when it came to loan guarantees, House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said he hopes to continue probing the DOE program. Issa said he hopes to hear from former Commerce Secretary John Bryson — an ex-chairman of loan guarantee recipient BrightSource Energy. “So do we have any question about actual links to the highest level? No, I mean that’s in these emails, many of which were deliberately worked around government in violation of the Federal Records Act. And that’s a separate investigation that falls before our committee,” Issa told POLITICO.

** A message from America’s Natural Gas Alliance: The more we put American natural gas to work, the more well-paying U.S. jobs we create. According to a PayScale Index report released in January 2012, wages in natural gas continued to grow despite the struggling economy. www.anga.us/workforce **

TALKING OFFSHORE DRILLING: The National Press Club hosts a panel today on the politics of expanded offshore drilling during the campaign season, with speakers including former BOEMRE Director Michael Bromwich, Southern Methodist University Maguire Energy Institute expert Bud Weinstein and Houston Chronicle correspondent Jennifer Dlouhy.

BROMWICH PREVIEW: Expect Bromwich to take aim at House Natural Resources Committee Republicans’ investigation into a report that incorrectly suggested that outside experts had approved of the Obama administration’s post-oil spill drilling moratorium. And he’ll also probably defend the pace of offshore drilling permitting in the aftermath of the BP spill.

INTERIOR IG: TALK TO SALAZAR: If House Republicans want to get to the bottom of the president’s Gulf drilling moratorium, they need to go to Interior’s top, the department’s acting inspector general said Thursday. “I think if they want to get to the actual moratorium issue, they need the secretary,” acting IG Mary Kendall told POLITICO. Erica Martinson has the story: http://politico.pro/Ot7KTA

DEMS SAY SALAZAR OFFERED TO TESTIFY: As POLITICO has reported before, Democratic aides say Salazar offered to testify, but committee Republicans turned him down. GOP staff say negotiations for the secretary to appear before the panel were silently dropped when Hastings refused to limit the scope of questions to the drilling moratorium.

POMPEO FLOATS EPA BILL: Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) introduced legislation Thursday that would force the EPA to clarify the Clean Air Act’s “duty clause,” which requires oil and gas producers and refineries to identify and take necessary steps to prevent chemical releases. “This legislation will provide companies that use chemicals in their operations with the certainty needed to comply with this law,” Pompeo said in a statement.

NPC WEIGHS IN ON ADVANCED VEHICLES: The National Petroleum Council released a report this week on advanced vehicle technologies. The takeaway? “Fuel economy can be dramatically improved in the light- and heavy-duty sectors through the advancement and application of existing and new technology. Internal combustion engine technologies are likely to be the dominant propulsion systems for decades to come, with liquid fuel blends continuing to play a significant, but reduced role.” Read the report, which was prepared at the request of Energy Secretary Steven Chu, here: http://bit.ly/MA2U6J

DEFENSE BILL INCLUDES NAVY BIOFUELS MONEY: The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a defense spending bill Thursday that funds a Navy program aimed at testing biofuels for use in ships and jets. Committee spokesman Rob Blumenthal said the bill, which was approved in a 30-0 vote, funds the program at the requested level of $70 million. The move sets up a clash with lawmakers like Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.), who authored an amendment to limit the Navy’s ability to purchase biofuels. More: http://bit.ly/MgUAYa

DOI NOMINATION TO SENATE: The White House said Thursday night that Obama has sent to the Senate the nomination of Kevin K. Washburn, of New Mexico, to be an assistant secretary of the Interior.

TRIVIA: Take a break from the Olympics and drop by POLITICO Pro’s next trivia night, hosted by Tony Romm and Patrick Gavin, at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Pros can RSVP with their teams of four to awilliams@politico.com.

QUICK HITS

- Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, a Republican, took aim at Mitt Romney for wanting to allow the production tax credit for wind to expire at the end of the year: http://bit.ly/QD2gIJ

- The co-founder of a research firm that conducted a poll showing that Iowa voters care about wind energy also does polling for Restore Our Future, a pro-Romney super PAC. Huffington Post: http://huff.to/PG0F14

** A message from America’s Natural Gas Alliance: We believe in a clean energy future. Natural gas is a cleaner energy choice and a key partner to solar and wind technologies. From California to Florida, natural gas facilities are co-locating with renewable energy to ensure steady, affordable and cleaner energy choices for communities across our nation. Because it is an abundant and affordable energy source available right here in America, natural gas can help make the promise of cleaner energy a reality in more American communities. Natural gas is smarter power today. Visit anga.us to learn more. **